Showman, barker, smooth talker and of course
bluesman supreme, this particular Sonny Boy - who borrowed his identity to the
famous bluesman John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson - created such a
mystery around him that it took the blues fans of the 60's (particularly the
British) sleuth talents to work out the truth from the fibs. And even now many
facts remain uncertain: for instance, when really was born our man? His
passport (and himself ) gave December 5th 1897 but others including his
relatives have given 1890, 1899, 1901.. And more recently even 1903 or 1912!!!...
That last date seems anyway hard to swallow for the man who appeared in Europe
in 1963-64 was certainly much older than that. But?

Born Aleck Ford, probably in Glendora, son of an
unmarried very young Millie Ford, he was raised by his stepfather, Mr Miller,
hence his "official" name Aleck Miller. His nickname Rice would come
from one of his regular work in the rice fields of Louisiana. Whatever, Aleck
Ford or Rice Miller learned the harmonica and the guitar at an early age and
decided to make a living as a travelling musician and showman, either alone or
among medicine shows that combed the Southern States during the 1930's. He
certainly knew and played with a lot of Mississippi and Arkansas bluesmen
Robert Johnson, Lockwood, Robert Nighthawk, Howlin' Wolf (whose sister he might
have married for awhile)... But when, after 1937, John Lee "Sonny Boy"
Williamson became one of the most famous bluesman and harp player of his time,
Miller took his identity, gaining much more gigs and even a radio programme from
Helena, the King Biscuit Show. It have been said that the real Sonny Boy
Williamson heard about the impostor and had even gone South with a gun to have
an explanation with him. But fortunately for us bluesfans the meeting never
occured...

Although he regularly said he recorded since the
1920's (and even behind Bessie Smith, no kidding.. and remind that we swallowed
all that!), Rice Miller made his recording debut in 1951 in Jackson (Ms) for
the Trumpet label, backed by Elmore James. Well promoted by Lillian Mc Murry
(owner of Trumpet) who liked quite much Sonny Boy, his records full of wry
humour and originality gained good sales and he waxed more than 20 titles during
the subsequent years.

But it will take 1955 and a contract with Chess with
superior backup musicians, studios and promotion for this Sonny Boy to record a
long string of masterpieces so well known today and striking examples of
classic Chicago blues of the 1950's: Don't
start me to talkin', The key, Nine below zero, Checkin' upon my baby, Cross my
heart, Trust my baby, Bring it on home, Help me and dozens of others.

In 1963, this "old man" with a goatee and
calling himself "The goat", dressed in a Harlequin suit and a top hat
was the true sensation of the annual American Folk Blues Festival throughout
Europe and stole every show with his showmanship, his harp wizardry, his
intriguing but warm personality and his snarky speeches. His influence on the burgeoning
European blues boom, particularly in England, was certainly as strong as
Muddy's or Wolf's. He then recorded two brilliant and mostly acoustic albums in
Denmark.

Although he sung he wanted to "make London his
home", he nevertheless went back to Helena, Arkansas just to die from a
heart attack on May, 25th 1965, leaving one of the most accomplished recorded
works of the Postwar blues.

We have here gathered for the first time all his studio
recordings. We have excluded the tracks he recorded live during the AFBF tours,
whether on this shows or with British groups like The Yardbirds or The Animals
as well as some tapes made while he was at private parties that have cropped up
here and there.

Those .mp3 uploaded files won't certainly be able to last
forever. So if you want it, grab it now.

Some of you seem to have problems with Mega. Whether the cause, it's beyond my reach. For me (and for many) it works very fine without any trouble. It seems to use a very different and modern system than the others and maybe those who have trouble should check their computer first. Recently, Zippy has wiped out several of my posts (i.e. Calvin Leavy) without any warning nor any given reason (those files were regularly and daily downloaded), so I've dlded the very huge files for the Big joe Turner and the SBW through Mega.

Let me be the first to congratulate you on providing this very important service to all of us who love Sonny Boy II and the blues. He has be neglected by record companies, and apart from the Charly box and some other CD's his complete work is hard to find. Thanks again for this.

Thanks Xyros. I'm quite an older man by now and I've gathered sometimes with difficulty so much material upon blues and folk (among others) during 50 years that I don't see why I wouldn't share this work with people hooked on those great artists (and also human beings). That's all

hello Gerard,Thanks for this tremendous compilation.I think I responded before but it may not have gone through.I have a question with regard to The Goat. I understand that Frank Frost was one of the guitar players on this track. he confirmed this to me once, and I think I saw it in print somewhere. Have you checked this? just curious.best,B flat

Thanks. As you may have seen in the disco that I've posted separately with the music, the chess files indicate for the session that gave The Goat the following musicians:Sonny Boy Williamson, vcl/hca; Robert Jr Lockwood, g; Luther Tucker, g; Otis Spann, pno; Willie Dixon, bs; Fred Below, dms.Chicago, Ill. novembre 195989. The goat #190. The goat #291. Cool disposition #192. Cool disposition #293. Cool disposition #394. I never do wrong95. It's sad to be aloneI feel very dubious that Frank Frost would have played on this number recorded in Chicago... He might have played with Sonny Boy on stage or whatsoever...